Park City woman’s car crushed by fallen ice at Kimball Junction Smith’s

Ice and snow fell from the roof of the Smith's gas station in Kimball Junction onto the car of a local resident, severely damaging the vehicle. Feb. 19, 2023. Photo: Jennifer Librizzi

PARK CITY, Utah — Jennifer Librizzi had just filled her gas tank at the Smith’s in Kimball Junction at approximately 1:50 p.m. on February 19 when she decided to walk behind her car back to the driver’s seat.

Had she walked in front of the car, there’s no telling what would have happened.

“It sounded like thunder above my head, it was just this really loud cracking noise and I thought at first someone was backing into me,” Librizzi said. “I went to step out and I was immediately hit with snow and ice in my face and it shocked me. I threw my phone and my phone cracked, and the piece [of ice] that fell on my car, you could just tell immediately that it was destroyed. It was a massive chunk.”

Librizzi estimated that the incredibly heavy slab of ice that fell on her car was around 10-12 inches thick.

“If I had walked around the front like I was planning on doing I would have a hundred percent been killed by it,” she said. “It was enough to crush my windshield and the entire hood of my car. I was just kind of in complete shock, I didn’t know what to do… it was very scary.”

According to Librizzi, Smith’s store manager and gas station attendants were very helpful following the incident. However, it’s been more difficult dealing with Kroger at the corporate level. She is currently working with both her insurance company and Kroger to hash out the estimated $3,000 in damages to her car.

“Things are very slow moving right now, which is a little frustrating because I’ve been without a car for over a week now,” she said. “That obviously has hindered my ability to work and get around and do basic things.”

Librizzi’s message to Parkites this winter is to simply “look up.”

“Just look up, that’s really all I can say,” she said. “When I pulled in there that was not going through my mind, I didn’t even think about it. I don’t know a lot of people who look at the roof of the gas station before they pull in, but I’m looking at every single roof I walk under now to make sure that things look stable.”

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